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The Real Food Daily Cookbook

I just bought this today to add to my already too-large cookbook collection. I hope to be getting some help for my cookbook addiction in the near future.

I liked that many of the recipes in this book sounded fresh and different with a southwest accent. I also liked that there were quite a few tempeh recipes, since tempeh isn't my family's favorite food and I'm always looking for new ways to prepare it that they might find appealing. The recipes seemed fairly straightforward and not too difficult or time consuming. The ones that really caught my attention were the Tortilla Soup and the Barbecued tofu chopped salad with ranch dressing. I'll probably try those first.

That Tortilla Soup recipe is really excellent. I've been working my way through some of those recipes recently. The Lima Bean & Corn soup is really good, even though I thought I didn't like lima beans. Also, the Salisbury Seitan/gravy recipe are just like what's served at the restaurant and really good.

Maybe I should start a recipe review... if enough other people on here have the cookbook. Hmm...

'cause the reviews are usually posted at the top of the thread, and in this case the OP didn't make the review thread. I was thinking about it too, but I felt like it might be awkward with a few posts before the reviews.

Rustic Italian Soup--This was the first thing I made and I was excited to try it because it seemed different (kale, red kidney beans, sage) and super nutritious. My children hated it and I did not think there was enough going on in the flavor department. Will not make this again.

Tortilla Soup--I served this to company one night as part of a taco dinner. It was super easy to make (I tossed it tgether while six kids wrecked my living room). Didn't have fresh tomatoes but 2/3 of a large can of plum tomatoes worked great. I also didn't make the optional tortilla strip garnish but just used crunched up chips from a bag. Very delicious and my omni guests loved it. (With the jalepeno it is too spicy for my kids.) Be sure to use fresh avocado to garnish.

Chicken-style seitan--There are a lot of ingredients in this seitan and the end result is a product that doesn't have the typical seitan texture. It is much more loafish than regular seitan. My husband and I liked it as a change of pace. My kids didn't love it and complained. I used one pound to make the seitan fingers and another pound and a half to make a shepherd's pie.

I made the seitan fingers for my kids for Christmas (without the Tarmarind Sauce) and they were okay. I definitely liked that they could be made in advance and fried at the last minute. (I made them at home and cooked them at my mother's house.) I didn't have the ingredients or time to make the Tamarind Sauce and I am sorry I didn't. My kids were pretty cool on them so I'm not sure I'll make them again since I have other seitan recipes they seem to like better (although I might use this recipe with different chicken style seitan).

Good. Not as good as the Tortilla Soup imo, but still pretty good. It gets better after it sits a bit. Don't be afraid of adding the miso, as I was, since it really adds another flavor dimension to the soup. The only reason I might not make it again is that between the lima beans and the cabbage my entire family has had a gas explosion. Think twice before serving to company!